CALEB BARNES because a state silver medalist in Div. 2A with a fantastic 2nd place finish at States. The junior and his team will compete at All States this weekend. (courtesy photo)
Caleb Barnes becomes state silver medalist
WRENTHAM—The Melrose High boys’ cross-country team traveled to Wrentham on Saturday, Nov. 12 to compete in the Division 2A state championships. Only seven runners from each of the 35 teams get to run in this highly competitive event, where the top seven teams move to the state finals.
Melrose was able to get one of those spots as they finished 6th. This marks their 3rd consecutive year that they’ve advanced to the big show. Melrose sophomore Caleb Barnes led the way, running an elite time of 15:56 over the 5k course to finish 2nd in the field of about 180 runners.
It was a great start for the team, but Melrose could not get another runner over the line until John Strong grabbed 39th place in 17:29. Ben Dugan was right behind in 17:31 for 40th, with Jonah Tully, 17:33, Jad Jamaleddine, 17:37, and Henry McCormack, 17:39 all closely packed for positions 43,48, and 49. Adam Caldwell was not far behind either running in 18:03.
“It was a great effort by our team, but the results were not what we were looking for,” stated coach Kevin Allison. “We had hoped to be closer to the top, but most of our times were off by 15 or 20 seconds, and that is costly in a race where a person is dashing across that finish line every second. We’re still grateful for getting in next week’s finals where the top 23 teams will compete and are looking forward to showing that we can run with the best.”
